URC Round 14: Lions thump Leinster, but Bulls and Stormers lose at home

THE PUSH FOR TOP EIGHT FROM A SAFFA POINT OF VIEW:

At the business end of the round-robin stage, and the top four teams on the URC standings earning the right to host quarter-finals, the Sharks, with little skin in the game down in 13th, can still do both the Bulls and Stormers a huge this weekend if they beat second-placed Glasgow Warriors in Scotland on Friday.

That would leave the Bulls requiring a bonus-point win over defending champions Munster at Loftus to go one point clear in second. It's a big ask for the Sharks, who are away in Scotland.

If, however, Munster win, they will go third on the standings, and if they lose without a bonus-point, and Stormers beat Ospreys in Cape Town, the blue and white stripes will go into fourth place and in home quarter-final contention.

For the 11th-placed Lions, a bonus-point win against Leinster, who probably won't field their strongest side at Ellis Park on Saturday, will take them into the top eight. The highest the Lions can finish is sixth.

BEST SA SCENARIO? For Bulls to finish second and Stormers to finish third after the round robin stage.

That would mean two play-off matches in South Africa and a potential North/South derby semi-final at Loftus.

Leinster, at the top of the log, will play their quarter-final against the eighth-placed team and, should they win, they will play the lowest-ranked quarter-final winner and host the final in Dublin, if they get that far.

Jake brings back the Boks for Munster showdown

Bulls director of rugby Jake White has brought back the big guns for their showdown against defending United Rugby Championship champions Munster at Loftus on Saturday.

Elrigh Louw will captain the Bulls in place of injured skipper Marcell Coetzee side with the Pretoria team strengthened by the return of their Springbok stars who were controversially absent for the Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton Saints last weekend.

But the Bulls have always had the job of securing a home URC play-off top of mind.

Springbok flank Louw starts at No 8 and will be joined by Reinhardt Ludwig and Cameron Hanekom, off the hook from a midweek citing, shifts to openside flank in Coetzee's and Marco van Staden's absence.

Lock Ruan Vermaak and a front row of Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp are all recalled, with young second-rower JF Heerden joining Hanekom as the only two forwards to retain their starting roles from last weekend.

Winger Sebastian de Klerk is the only backline player to retain his place from last week, with Embrose Papier, Johan Goosen and David Kriel returning.

World Cup winners Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux are recalled.

They will come across a familiar face in RG Snyman, who starts for Munster at lock.

Kick-off is at 17:05.

TEAMS

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw (c), 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Cameron Hanekom, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.

Substitutes: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Devon Williams.

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jeremy Loughman, 7 Niall Scannell, 6 Stephen Archer, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Tadhg Beirne (c), 3 Peter O’Mahony, 2 Alex Kendellen, 1 Jack O’Donoghue.

Substitutes: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 John Hodnett

Malherbe to lead Stormers against Ospreys

Experienced prop Frans Malherbe will captain the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship match against the Ospreys at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

With an eye to their match against eight-time Champions Leinster next weekend, the Stormers have made several changes to their team that will take on the Welsh outfit this Saturday.

Malherbe will pack down in the front row alongside hooker JJ Kotze and Brok Harris, who is the only player in the current squad with more Stormers caps than the skipper.

Gary Porter and Adre Smith form an all-new second row, while Evan Roos is joined by flanks Nama Xaba and Hacjivah Dayimani in the loose trio.

There are six forwards on the replacements bench as hooker Scarra Ntubeni and props Sazi Sandi and Kwenzo Blose come into the mix, with Ruben van Heerden also set to provide an impact in the second half along with loose forwards Willie Engelbrecht and Marcel Theunissen.

Scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer will link up with Manie Libbok at halfback, while the centre partnership of Dan du Plessis and Wandisile Simelane, which impressed against Edinburgh earlier in the season, is reunited.

Fullback Warrick Gelant will have wings Ben Loader and Suleiman Hartzenberg outside him, while Paul de Wet and Damian Willemse are set to be unleashed from the bench in the second half.

Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said that this match is vital for his team in the context of the season.

"We are getting closer to the play-offs, which means that every match becomes our most important and we will certainly be treating this game that way.

"We will have a few exciting combinations out there and they will need to fire from the first whistle if we are to get the result we need against a highly competitive Ospreys side.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 19:15.

TEAMS

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Frans Malherbe (captain), 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Brok Harris.

Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Damian Willemse. 

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Keiran Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Nicky Smith, 7 Sam Parry, 6 Rhys Henry, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Huw Sutton, 3 James Ratti, 2 Harri Deaves, 1 Morgan Morris (c)

Substitutes: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Evardi Boshoff.

Lions make nine changes for Leinster clash in push for top eight finish

The Lions have made nine changes to the team that faced Benneton in Italy as they brace for Irish giants Leinster in the United Rugby Championship at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Skipper Marius Louw at centre and half-back sensation Sanele Nohamba at No 10 return to action as the 11th-placed Lions look to make a fist of reaching the top eight in the URC standings.

Edwill van der Merwe and Richard Kriel bring fresh legs on the wings, with Quan Horn at fullback.

PJ Botha and veteran Ruan Dreyer are in the front row, while youngster Ruan Delport lines up next to Willem Alberts at lock. Eighthman Francke Horn will earn a half-century of matches.

Tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye makes his return from a three-match suspension on the bench.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 15:00.

TEAMS

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Jacobs, 1 Morgan Naude.

Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Henco van Wyk.

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Rob Russell, 13 liam Turner, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Cian Healy, 7 Lee Barron, 6 Thomas Clarkson, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Diarmuid Mangan, 2 Scott Penny (c), 1 Max Deegan.

Substitutes: 16 John McKee, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 San Prendergast, 23 Ben Brownlee.

Venter captains Sharks as Bok stars are rested for Glasgow clash

The Sharks have made several changes to their team to tackle Glasgow Warriors in a URC clash at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow.  

The Durbanites have rested several of their Springbok stars who did duty in last weekend's 36-30 win over Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals in Durban. 

The likes of skipper Lukhanyo Am, winger Makazole Mapimpi, scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch, hooker Bongi Mbonambi and lock Eben Etzebeth are all rested.  

Centre Francois Venter will skipper the Sharks in Am's absence.  

Former Springbok Aphiwe Dyantyi gets a run on the wing, while there is a debut for No 8 Nick Hatton.  

"Whichever team is put out, the expectation is always the same: to deliver a performance in the Sharks way. With the workload some of the guys have endured, this was an opportunity for us to freshen the squad up, whilst still demanding the same performance and building on that confidence," said assistant coach Dave Williams.

After a difficult start to the campaign, Williams said the Sharks are in a good mental space.

"Confidence does a lot for the team, the spirit coming in on a Monday is high, it brings belief and the confidence to carry out the plan on the field.

"We now have a great challenge against Glasgow, they're unbeaten at home this season so a real challenge for the guys to build a performance and gain a win away from home." 

Kick-off on Friday is at 20:35.

TEAMS:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn (captain), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Facundo Cordero, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth.

Substitutes: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Thomas Gordon, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Ross Thompson.

Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Murray Koster, 12 Francois Venter (captain), 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Dan Jooste, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu 

Substitutes: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Khwezi Mona, 18 Vincent Koch,19 Emile van Heerden, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Siya Masuku,23 Ethan Hooker